Define Connector Rules

Connector rules define operations that need to be performed on data before it's sent to a foreign system (export) or ARCHIBUS database (import). These rules are registered in the Connector Rules table. A collection of default rules are provided, but more may be added by someone with an understanding of ARCHIBUS Java programming. The only two fields that are necessary are the Rule Code, and the Class Name. No other field currently affects execution of connectors.

Types of Rules

Rules fall into one of four types depending on how they are coded: field, record, skip and side effect. Within each type they are applied in the order of position of the Connector Fields they are specified on, but the types are applied in the following order:

Import: field -> record -> skip -> side effect

Export: skip -> record -> field

Types are as follows:

• Field
  • CONVERT ENUMERATION LIST VALUE
  • CONVERT TO DATE
  • SET CURRENT DATE
  • SET CURRENT TIME
  • SET RECORD NUMBER
  • SET VALUE
  • SET VALUE IF NULL
• Record
  • CONCATENATE
  • LOOKUP VALUE
  • SKIP FIELD
  • SKIP IF NOT UNIQUE
  • VALIDATE SKIP (without SkipRecord)
• Skip Condition
  • SKIP RECORD IF NULL OR EQUALS
  • VALIDATE SKIP (with SkipRecord)
• Side Effect
  • POPULATE TABLE
  • VALIDATE ADD

Connector Rules execute server-side Java code by class based on which interface(s) are implemented by the rule's class. They receive the connector field (and by proxy connector) configuration when the connector starts. When applied, field type rules receive only the value of the field they apply to, but all other rules receive the entire record. The record type rules also receive the record as it was before other record level rules were applied.